tick...tick tick tick...tick tick....AARGH!

[swee'pea99]

Ticking noise driving me a bit nuts.

Just reassembled me fixie after a respray and it's all running very smooth & sweet - and silent, apart from an intermittent ticking noise. Definitely a tick rather than a click - it sounds sort of like that noise you get from static discharges - and it's very irregular. There'll be a few seconds of silence, then a little flurry of ticks, then a second of silence, then two ticks, then silence then...you get the idea.

So far I've wrecked a bottom bracket by over-tightening it, tightened up the cranks as much as I dare, ditto the seatpost. There's not all that much to tighten on a fixie! Everything seems nice and tight and tickety-boo...apart from that ticking. Any ideas much appreciated.

 

[accountantpete]

Is it a second hand bike?




I'd start at the headset - loosen the top cap and stem and then re-tighten.

 

[raindog]

A spoke that needs nipping up a bit?

I've just spent three weeks tracking down a noise on one of my bikes.
Almost rebuilt the bloody thing before finding yesterday that it was a pedal that had come very slightly loose.

 

[Globalti]

Is there a bloke in a black hooded gown riding behind you with a scythe in his hand? It's your life ticking by.

 

[MartinC]

Before you methodically go through and eliminate all of the possible causes just check that the valve nuts (the ones on presta valves that tighten against the rim) are nipped up.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks all. Valve nuts - check. Spokes - check. Headset - will check. Death - oo-er.

 

[Steve Austin]

Does it still occur when standing on the pedals? I had a saddle that used to tick..

and a shoelace that used to 'tick' on the crank arm
and a ticking headset
ticking bars
ticking stem
ticking spokes
ticking rim (n a losse bit of something rattling aroung inside it!!)
ticking pedals
ticking cranks
ticking crankrings

a lot of ticking¬!!!!

 

[Fnaar]

Pedal or crank hitting protruding end of front derailleur cable?

 

[PpPete]

Pedal or crank hitting protruding end of front derailleur cable?

On a fixed ? I think that can be ruled out

 

[simon_adams_uk]

Maybe of use... http://www.sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

 

[buddha]

Latest one for me was the inner tube nut (that secures the valve against the rim) had worked loose.

 

[Globalti]

Ah yes! I had that whenever I bounced the front wheel, but it would stop when I rode the bike. Took me a few minutes to suss that one.

 

[nigelb]

Took me a while to realise that an intermittent squeak as I pedalled was my trainer on the crank arm!

In general, I've found that clicks that repeat for a bit, then stop, then start again, in some form of pattern, that weren't the pedals, were the bottom bracket.

Personally, I think that bike shops add a squeak, creak or repeating click as an added bonus, to make up for how much a service costs - a bit more value for money.

Nige

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Is there a bloke in a black hooded gown riding behind you with a scythe in his hand? It's your life ticking by.

 

[betty swollocks]

Does the noise disappear when you stand on the pedals ie when you are not sitting on the saddle?
If it does and your bike does not have mudguards, check that there are no miniscule grit particles gone down between the seat tube and the seatpost -take out the seatpost and clean it plus shove some cloth down the seat tube and clean that.
This noise can be particularly loud if you have an aluminium frame.
Discovered this with an old Cannondale of mine. The noise drove me mad until after a prolonged process elimination, I discovered the cause and fixed it.